Tractor cultivator



June 25, F1929;

B. R. BENJAMIN TRACTOR cULTIvAToR Filed Oct. 25, 1926 2 Sheets-Smet l June 25, 1929- a. R. BENJAMIN TRACTCR CULTIVATOR nud oct. 25. 192e 2 Sheets-Sheetv 2 A. lJl/NHI: H1

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"uNlrEa/STA BERT n. BENJAMIN, OF OAK ranmirnnmors; AssIGNOn To INTERNATIONAL may; vnsrna COMPANY, a CORPORATION or New JERSEY.

y""rnaofr'on; OULTIVATOR.

. Applicaties 1aed octberas, 192e.l serxai No. 143,845.

q The present vinvention relates'to 'improvements in self` propelled farm implements of the soil working class. The principal object of the invention is' to s provide a simple andlight weight tillage.

lattachment for tractors, and, more particularly, a cultivator attachment of the straddle lrow type capable of eiiiciently cultivatinV four or more plant rows atleach traverse o Another object is toprovide simplified mechanism for controlling the operation of a multiple row cultivator during travel.

Still another object lis to provide a multi- @1,5 ple row cultivator attachment adapted :tor

- combination with tractorsof existing types and capable of being attached orv detached therefrom as desired. y t

More particularly, the invention resides 1n aan providing, on a self propelled vehicle, front and rear frame bars projecting laterally beyond the vehicle body and connected thereto by novel means for permitting both 'rotary movement and movement in the direction of a5 the longitudinal axis of the bars, sald bars being equipped with complemental,v earth working means of novel form and being conv trolled by novel means, all as hereinafte more specifically described. 4 t ao l Referring to the drawings: y

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a tractor having the novel earth working means combined therewith, the tractor itself being shown in l :dotted lines; and

v'lli-g. 2 is a similar view in plan.

lncludedin the general organization constituting one-aspect of the invention, there is y disclosed' in this instance a tractor of a type having a comparatively lnarrow main frame a@ 10, supported on widely spaced rear traction wheels 11, adapted to span two plant rows,- and on a centrally positioned steering truck 12. The truck vincludes an upright steering l standard. 13 journaledin a front cross-head' as on the tractor, and the truck is steered through gears 14 which transmit the rotation ot a steering wheel 15 to the standard 13 through. a gear sector l16 fixed on the upper end of the standard of the steering truck.

In the practice of the invention the tractor is provided with suitable brackets 17 at each side of the front end of the tractor frame and these brackets receive the securing bolts 18 ot bearing brackets 19 which constitute supporting means for an elongated transversely extending frame bar 20 which ref- `erably projects beyond both sides ot the tractor four plant rows. Each bracket 19 vcarries aV palr of parallelforwardly extending s indles 20 on which are journaled conical rol ers 21-. The rollers on the respective spindles are' re- 'is received between them, as seen on Fig. 1. Bar 20 is thus mountedl so" as to be axially shiftable-in thev brackets 19 and in this inv stance such movement is transmitted'gtojit ody in a" manner toV span at. least i .versed andhave concaved bearing surfaces corresponding tothe contour of bar 20 which pairs and disposed onbar 20-so that 'each Y .pair will stradddle one of the'several plant rows spanned by the bar.V Each of the resilient drag .beams '24 is fixed "at its upper end to the bar 20 by suitableclamping means such asa U-bolt 25, connecting plate 26 and .clamp-block 27, the upper end of a beam 24 being received and heldbetween a plate 26 and block 27 and all parts locked by. drawlng up the nuts on the arms of the U-bolt, as

each earn 24 is bent -to extend rearwardly and preferably has a rigid portion 28 extending in a substantially horizontal plane. The rigid lhorizontal portion 28 of each beam preferably consists of a flat metal bar folded on itself and set on edge with its folded end secured to the flexible bar at 29. Between the two halves of the bar there is clamped seen on Fig. 1. The lower'end of a suitable shovel or sweep 30 by means of suitable bolts 31 passing through the parts of bar 28. The sweep here shown together withv'its manner of assembly with the bar forms the subjectrmatter of my copending application which has issued as Patent No.

'1,685,268 September 25, 192s. 'Bar 2o may also be rotated in' brackets 19 to raise and .lowerthe drag beams and tools through a -control lever'32 mounted on the rear axle housing of the' tractor and connected by a rod 33 to an arm 34 fixed on bar 20. A flexible link between'the rod and arm at 35 permits lateral movement of bar 20. With the manipulation of -steering wheel 15 and that there is differential movement between the bar 20 and steering truck due to l'the actuating connection through forwardly projecting arm 22 on the steering standard. Quick plant dodging or guiding movement is therefore possible and as the drag beams 24 are rigid as regards lateral movement. the tools carried Athereby will share the movements of The above described attachment may be used alone as a row crop, or similar, cultivating attachment, but for more efiicient and thorough cultivation between plant rows a second, complementan, attachment is employed at the rear ofthe tractor the construcy tion of which will now be described.

For the purpose of carrying a rear attachment, the tractor is provided with a rearwardly and upwardly extending frame which preferably consists of the U-shaped drawar 36 normally carried by the tractor and which, in this instance, is fixed thereto. in upwardly inclined position. An auxiliary frame comprising a cross bar 37 4and rearwardly projecting armsv 38 is fixed to U-bar 36 and the free ends.- of arms 38 form -sup orting brackets havin spindles 39 thereon orming journalsfor ro lers 40 which are constructed and arranged as described in connection with front brackets 19. Between the rollers 40 on arms 38 there is received a cylindrcahframe bar 41, similar to but a little longerthan bar 20,` and this barv carries resilient beams 42 which are st-ructurally identical'with the front beams 24 and fixed to the bar 41 as are the' front beams. f The drag beams on bar. 41

' are preferably arrangedin groups which are solocated with respect to the front beams as to engage and cultivate the strip of soil in the s ace between adjacent pairs of beams on the ront bar 20. The rear bar 41is prefer'- ably extended beyond front bar 20 and carries one or more beamson each extended end,

' 'as seen on Fig. 2, which engage the soil bel ypnd the outer pairs of beams on the front i rotata on its .upper end. A suitable supporting v'bracket 45 for standard 43 is fixed to cross l:piece 37 and the upper portionof thisloracket asformed'as .a rack sector 46 with which a latch on the crankarm 44 cooperates. At the ',properl'point on standard 43 there iS Secured l a 'horizontally projecting arm 47 which is w 4'flexibly connected by a llnk 48 with the bar i 41 through a'collar 49 in which ba'r 41 is free to turn. .Means for rotating bar 41 to raise and lower its beams is provided inlever 50 le standard 43 having a crank-arm 44l mounted on bar 36 und loosely connected by link 51 with a fixed arm 52 on bar 41.

seat 53 may be provided on the rear attachment from which an operator may manipulate the levers 44 and 50, or these may be arranged'to be reached from the seat on the tractor. With the beam arrangement on bar 41 above described and shown on Fig. 2, the tools on the front-and rear frame bars 20, 41

are corelated and arranged in what may be described as divided sets, straddling each plant row, with the pair of shovels nearest the plant row shiftably connected to the steering gear of the tractor. It will be obvious, however, that the rear attachment may be employed alone and with different tool beam arrangements from that shown if desired.

In operation, the tractor, which straddles two plant rows with its rear wheels, is first driven into position for cultivation. The rear bar 41 is then given any necessary lateral adjustment to bring its beams into proper relation with those on beam 20. The beams are then lowered rcsiliently pressing the tools into the soil to an extent limited by the rigid beam portions 28 which act as depth gauges. The tractor is then guided along the rows, any turnin movement of the steering truck, however slight, being transmitted to bar 20 in amplified degree thus giving easy and' uick guiding or dodginor action and permittino' travel at correspondingly hi her speed. 'fhe structure described is liglit, simple, and so arranged that the working stresses are evenly distributed on the tractor when the full outfit is in use.

The disclosure .herein made exemplifies a prepared embodiment` of the inventlon, but other forms thereof are possible within the sco e of the appended claims.v

hat is claimed is: v

1. Thecombination with a vehicle body, of sup ortin brackets secured thereto, a

air o bearing rollers mounted on each racket in vertically spaced relation, a transversely extending frame bar received between the bearing rollers and supported thereon' for both rotary and axial movements means on the vehicle for imparting said movements to the bar, and earth working means carried by the bar.

2. The combination with a vehicle body, of sup ortin brackets secured thereto` a pair o para lel spindles on each bracket spaced in a vertical plane and having concave bearing rollers journaled thereon, a transversely extending c lindrical frame bar engaged between sai rollers, earth working means secured thereto, means on the vehicle for shifting the bar axially `on the rollers,

and means on the vehicle for rotating the bar.

3. The combination with a tractor having dirigible front wheels and means for steering the wheels, of supporting means secured to the front of the tractor, a transverse 'frame bar having its middle portion slidably and rotatably carri-ed by the supporting means so as to permit both axial and rotating'inovement of the bar, earth working means secured thereto, means operable by the s teer-v ing 'means for moving thebaraxiall'g, and

the steering means and the bar including.

means for causing axial movement of the bar by operation of the steering means, and earth working means carried by the bar comprising trailing spring metal vbeams secured to the bar and arrangeddn straddle-rowrela tion. '5. The combination with a tractor having dirigible front wheels and meansfor steering the wheels, of a pair of bars extending of respectivel the connections with the,

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across the tractor at the front and rear theretractor includmg means for' permittingfree independent shifting movement of thebars transversely of the tractor, an. actuating connection between the steering means and one of the bars including means for causing shifting movement of the bar by operation of the steering means, means on the tractor for shifting the second bar, and complemental tillage tools carried by the respective bars. 6. A tractor cultivator comprising the combination with the tractor body of a transversely extending bar projecting beyond thev tractor, spring metal beams fixed to and dependin from said 4extended portionofthe ar an having rearwardly bent ends, rigid horizontally extending dragbars on the ends of said beams, and earth working ltools carried by the ends of said dragbars to trail beyond one side of the'tracton 7. An implement carrying attachment for tractors comprising supportsadapted to be secured to the frame of a tractor, roller bearings journaled on the supports comprising opposite roller units spaced. in a verticall P ane, anelongat'ed bar having a portion supported in said bearin s forfree axial movement of the bar there1n,means for controlling said movement of the bai-,and earth workingmeans-connected to the bar. y

8. A tractor cultivator comprising the combination with the tractor of a transverselv extending bar mounted across one end of the tractor on supporting means that permit free axial and rotative movements of the'bar, spring metal beams fixed to .and depending from said bar and having rearwardly' bent ends, rigid horizontally extending dragbars on the ends of said beams, earth working .tools on the ends of said dragbars, means on the v tractor for shiftin i the transverse bar axially on its supporting means, and means on the tractor for rotatively adjusting said transverse bar on its axis.

In testimony whereof I afx my si nature.

BERT R. BENJ N 

